The ignorance continues...

[totalia]

I have scratches from cats too. Some of them are pretty bad and caused scars.

Poodles can cause it too. I had one bite me in the face when I was a kid. No scarring though.

It is NOT the same as a pit bull. Small animals can't bite through a childs neck and snap it. Big ones can.

Don't go thinking that a pit bull (bred for its fighting) and a poodle (bread for its pretty nature and sweet temper) are the same thing. They aren't at all.

Getting a scar from a cat or a poodle is NOT the same thing as being disembowled by a dog huge enough to take your stomach into its mouth in one bite or watching as it snaps a childs neck with its jaws.

If you think you can compare the two them you are seriously misinformed.

 

[jipsy]

So are they banning Rotties too? They have a similar reputation.

 

[MHopkins2]

The first few days with my roommate's new pit puppy have been very interesting. We take her for walks around the neighborhood, and she needs to meet and make friends with every person who crosses her path. We go out of our way to have her "meet" people of all ages and all races - I've even purposely crossed the street with her to meet an elderly couple because there aren't a lot of seniors in this area. Anyway, everyone loves her on sight, bends down to talk to her, laughs at her attempts to lick them to death, etc. Then the question comes: "Is she a lab mix?" "No, she's a pit bull. " [backing up slightly] "Oh." A couple of people have reacted really poorly, and I've pointed out to them that they loved her when they assumed she was a lab. Buttheads.

 

[meandtheguys2]

MH2, do you do dominance training with a pit? My aunt did it with their mastiff when she was a pup. They did several excercises to teach her that they were the alpha dogs! She also had a dobie and boxers that people had a hissy fit about. They thought the boxers were pits. Hope all is going well with the pup and the cat!

Michelle

 

[MHopkins2]

Yes, definitely! I've bought a very good book on puppy training, and have started with the dominance exercises already - they really do make a difference. (Interestingly, my roommate hasn't done as much, and there's a difference in how Lucy responds to the two of us - I'm apparently the alpha dog of our house. Hee.) She will also be enrolled in obedience class and "puppy playtime" class as soon as her vaccinations have kicked in enough to be safe - about 3-4 weeks (per the vet).

The cat isn't doing too well, but he's eating and using his LB, so I know it could be worse. I know it will get better; it's just going to take some time.

 

[Dancind]

Bev, keep your kids close until that dog is gone. And I hope the neighbor is paying your Vet bills.

We have on average one fatality a year from Pit Bull maulings here in NM, and several that aren't quite fatal. The latest was very sad. A little four year old girl was actually scalped by a Pit bull. She survived, amazingly, but is very scarred. Because of this, there have been stories on the local news lately about communities that have banned pit bulls, and how dramatically the incidence of dog attacks have dropped.

Funny, both my Dad and my FIL feel the need to own large dogs. My Dad has a German Shephard, the in-laws own a monster black lab. I don't trust either one, the German especially. Kind of a psycho dog, even after years of expensive training (he's now a service dog, they take him everywhere!). I just don't understand why they feel they need to own these type of dogs. It just alienates them from other people, including their own families.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Monty Dog met 3 pitbull's in Petsmart Saturday. Two were puppies and they played with him like any other dog would. One was a 4 yo female. She was not interested in playing but when Monty Dog jumped at her, she just sat calmly, like a mother dog tolerating the antics of her puppies.

All 3 of these dogs had what appeared to be responsible owners, who were buying pet care products , from shampoo, to medication for their pets.

I seriously doubt if either of these 3 will end up being "killers".

To the person who said they "don't get" how muzzling is punishment :

Monty (my Jack Russell) loves barking at birds and squirrels, he loves licking things, like bark, pavement and grass. When I am eating an ice cream , I like to give him whats left of my cone, or toss him a fry or two if I'm eating at an outdoor cafe.

With a muzzle on, a dog can't do those things. And to responsible down owners, who care about their dogs happiness, then YES that is punishment.

I don't understand why they are not just seeking out the idiots who use their dogs to fight and fining them.

 

[MHopkins2]

I don't understand why they are not just seeking out the idiots who use their dogs to fight and fining them.

Fining, schmining - throw them in jail.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

I'm in Boston (well, Methuen but we take our dog to Boston a lot).

Daisy weighs 20 lbs, she's 2 years old and she is adorable. She is possibly 1/2 pitbull. (This law applies to any dog who even has a touch of pitbull in her as well as purebreds)

I love her. She is the cutest pup. She was abandoned and found by animal rescue. She is in New York so I'd have a long drive to pick her up.

What to do?? I just have visions of us walking Monty & Daisy through Boston, and Monty having a great time, and poor little Daisy being muzzled an unable to bark at birds and stuff because of this ridculous law.

 

[minmate]

Soooo.... what does anyone here suggest SHOULD happen? I mean, it's irrefutable that there have been tragic "pit bull" attacks... as well as attacks by other breeds of dogs.... if you guys were running the city and responsible for the safety of all its inhabitants, what would you do?

 

[CookieGVB]

Aren't there abandoned dogs in Boston that need a home just as much?

Why go all the way to New York to rescue a dog?

 

[MHopkins2]

Originally posted by minmate
Soooo.... what does anyone here suggest SHOULD happen? I mean, it's irrefutable that there have been tragic "pit bull" attacks... as well as attacks by other breeds of dogs.... if you guys were running the city and responsible for the safety of all its inhabitants, what would you do?

Give a real punishment (jail time and a BIG fine, not a few hundred bucks that someone can make back in a couple of weeks) for dog fighting. Big fines for having an unregistered dog; registration costs big bucks, but can be reduced and/or eliminated completely with proof of obedience / good canine citizen class(es). Exact same rules for "high risk" animals like Rottweilers and the ones that scare the bejeezus out of me personally, like (sorry, Esmerelda!) JRTs.

Bottom line: punish the wrongdoers and leave the responsible people alone.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Originally posted by minmate
Soooo.... what does anyone here suggest SHOULD happen? I mean, it's irrefutable that there have been tragic "pit bull" attacks... as well as attacks by other breeds of dogs.... if you guys were running the city and responsible for the safety of all its inhabitants, what would you do?

I would require all dog owners to get a dog liscense. I would not have a higher fee for a certain breed or mix of a certain breed.

I would take severe action on the owners of dogs who do attack. Punish the bad owners, not assume all owners are bad.

Since this ordinanace passed, by the way, there have been 3 dog attacks by pitbulls or supposed pitbull mixes. The people who have dogs who they just let roam the streets are not following the law anyway.

The only people who pay attention to the law are people like me, who desperatly want to adopt a pitbull mix and are hesitant because we don't want to have to muzzle one of our pets in public.

 

[beattyfamily]

I have NO problem with the new 'rules' they are putting in place in Boston.

I'm constantly hearing about Pit Bull deaths but funny thing is I've never heard of a Poodle related deaths??

I'm all for any rules/laws to keep our kids and pets safe from these dogs that maul them at a high percentage.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Originally posted by CookieGVB
Aren't there abandoned dogs in Boston that need a home just as much?

Why go all the way to New York to rescue a dog?

The story of Daisy....

Our NY offices think they are the only offices the work for our worldwide company. Therefore when they send out an email, and mean to only send it to their office, they send it to
OURCOMPANY-ALL@ourcompany.com instead of to
OURCOMPANY-NY@ourcompany.com

Anyway - they wind up sending their stuff to Boston, Indiana, London, Nashville, LA and several other cities in other countries.

This is how I heard about Daisy. Someone in NY found her. I saw the photo, heard her tale and fell head over heels. She is a tiny little beauty. She is 1 foot tall and weighs 20 lbs.

She is hardly a threat. But because she has Pitbull blood, she will be required to abide by these laws.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Originally posted by MHopkins2
Give a real punishment (jail time and a BIG fine, not a few hundred bucks that someone can make back in a couple of weeks) for dog fighting. Big fines for having an unregistered dog; registration costs big bucks, but can be reduced and/or eliminated completely with proof of obedience / good canine citizen class(es). Exact same rules for "high risk" animals like Rottweilers and the ones that scare the bejeezus out of me personally, like (sorry, Esmerelda!) JRTs.

Bottom line: punish the wrongdoers and leave the responsible people alone.

JRT's can freak people out. They are hyper and jumpy and they have big teeth and I can totally see why they'd make you nervous.

Of course, Monty Dog is a total wuss who is afraid of mice and cowers in terror at butterflies. So I think you'd be safe around him.


And your bottom line is so well put. Punish the bad, leave the good alone.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Originally posted by beattyfamily
I have NO problem with the new 'rules' they are putting in place in Boston.

I'm constantly hearing about Pit Bull deaths but funny thing is I've never heard of a Poodle related deaths??

I'm all for any rules/laws to keep our kids and pets safe from these dogs that maul them at a high percentage.

I'm not going to re-repeat everything I have already said in this thread, but :

A. I know someone who was mauled by a poodle. Not killed, but would have been had some people not intervened.

B. You are constantly hearing about terror attacks caused by Muslim extremists. Does that mean we should ban the religion Islam in the US? A handful of baddies make the news. The majority of good does not. There are a lot of black teens in this country in gangs? Should we lock up all black youth because of this? No. Should we lock up all white guys because a handful of them are in the Klan? No.

Look outside what you hear in your daily news. You are only hearing about the bad dogs.

C. Dog owners should be punished if they let their dogs roam the street, or do not train them. Pitbulls and mixes thereof tend to attract idiots, mostly meathead guys who want a "mean dog".
These same idiots treat the dogs as mean dogs, and hence, the dogs are not trained, not cared for and end up on the streets, snapping at the first thing that crosses it's path.

Note I don't say "BIG" mean dog, because Pitbulls are not big
dogs. They are on average smaller than labs, or collies.

I happen to think pitbulls are adorable, and the one in my family (owner by my neices who are almost 12 and 4) is a big baby and would not hurt a flea. She has been through all sorts of training and lets the kids and other dogs roughhouse with her all day long.

It's such a shame that I probably will not end up adopting Daisy, a 20 lb , foot tall pitbull/jack russell/dashund/???whatever else mix, because she looks like a mini pitbull and I refuse to muzzle a dog I know is friendly in public.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Answer that question honestly before you go talking about the Pitbull laws...

This is Daisy, the pup I'm debating adopting. The only thing stopping me is this ridiculous law. I am obviously a good dog owner. Daisy would be well trained and well cared for living with me. She would never even be left unattended in the yard, let alone allowed to roam the streets.

But god forbid I want to take her into Boston for a walk with my other dog. Daisy is at least 1/3 pitbull and would be required to be muzzled (ie. not able to bark at squirrels, or easily eat dropped popcorn, or given snacks).

Because a handful of morons mistreat their dogs so badly that their dogs attack. Those attacks make the news and everyone thinks these dogs are all killers.

Wow. If aliens from another planet came here and their only info about human beings came from the nightly news, they'd think we were far more dangerous than any mean dog you can think of.

Here is Daisy...

 

[beattyfamily]

Originally posted by EsmeraldaX
I'm not going to re-repeat everything I have already said in this thread, but :

A. I know someone who was mauled by a poodle. Not killed, but would have been had some people not intervened.

B. You are constantly hearing about terror attacks caused by Muslim extremists. Does that mean we should ban the religion Islam in the US? A handful of baddies make the news. The majority of good does not. There are a lot of black teens in this country in gangs? Should we lock up all black youth because of this? No. Should we lock up all white guys because a handful of them are in the Klan? No.

Look outside what you hear in your daily news. You are only hearing about the bad dogs.

C. Dog owners should be punished if they let their dogs roam the street, or do not train them. Pitbulls and mixes thereof tend to attract idiots, mostly meathead guys who want a "mean dog".
These same idiots treat the dogs as mean dogs, and hence, the dogs are not trained, not cared for and end up on the streets, snapping at the first thing that crosses it's path.

Note I don't say "BIG" mean dog, because Pitbulls are not big
dogs. They are on average smaller than labs, or collies.

I happen to think pitbulls are adorable, and the one in my family (owner by my neices who are almost 12 and 4) is a big baby and would not hurt a flea. She has been through all sorts of training and lets the kids and other dogs roughhouse with her all day long.

It's such a shame that I probably will not end up adopting Daisy, a 20 lb , foot tall pitbull/jack russell/dashund/???whatever else mix, because she looks like a mini pitbull and I refuse to muzzle a dog I know is friendly in public.

Sorry but it really doesn't matter how long your post is with all reasons why YOU think the new rules are wrong.

I will still think the rules they are putting in place are good and should be done. It's my opinion and I'm not going to debate you.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Originally posted by beattyfamily
Sorry but it really doesn't matter how long your post is with all reasons why YOU think the new rules are wrong.

I will still think the rules they are putting in place are good and should be done. It's my opinion and I'm not going to debate you.

I'm not trying to debate you. But take a look at Daisy and think about how unhappy her life will be because of this law before you go judging all based upon the actions of a few.